The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself.

Becoming Beloved Community at All Saints’ Wolfeboro

As the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, we dream and work to foster Beloved Communities where all people may experience dignity and abundant life and see themselves and others as beloved children of God. In response to the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire’s Reconciliation Commission goals, we as a parish have engaged in a number of efforts to join the church-wide invitation of Becoming Beloved Community: The Episcopal Church’s Long-Term Commitment to Racial Healing, Reconciliation and Justice.

Learn more about becoming beloved community at: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/beloved-community/

Wolfeboro Reads

Wolfeboro’s community book group jointly facilitated by All Saints’ Wolfeboro and First Congregational Church Wolfeboro gathers three times a month to discuss a variety of book genres and publishes an annual “Summer reading List” with recommendations from the pastors of All Saints’ and First Congregational Church. Books we have read related to race include:

America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America, by Jim Wallis

But I Don’t See You as Asian: Curating Conversations About Race, by Bruce Reyes-Chow

I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a world Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown

Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson

The Hate You Give, by Angie Thomas

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander

The Third Reconstruction: How a Moral Movement is Overcoming the Politics of Division and Fear, by The Rev. Dr. William Barber, II

Parish Read

To best understand that the opposite of "racist" isn't "not racist", we purchased a number of copies of the book How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi that have been available for loan from our parish office (as opposed to our parish library) to make it easier/more convenient and visible to borrow. We’ve also encouraged utilizing Dr. Kendi’s discussion questions and Anti-Racism Reading List found at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5913d00603596e07853ef761/t/5dc37dafd013963f1c034404/1573092786304/bookclubkit.ANTIRACIST.pdf

Peace Flag

All Saints flies a Peace Flag as one of the flags at our visible location on South Main Street. The peace flag has evolved in the name of racial justice, with new skin tones and black lettering. All colors now stand side by side, a symbol of solidarity and equality—for all. https://commonstreet.org/rainbow-peace-flag-project/

Community Engagement

A Community Vigil for Racial Justice was held in June 2020 and members of All Saints’ Wolfeboro joined more than 500 neighbors who stood with signs at Pickering Corner on Main Street near Brewster Academy before marching to a field. Organizers encouraged everyone to make a sign bearing the name of a person of color who was killed in a racist act. People were asked to wear black in what organizers called a socially distant, meditative demonstration to acknowledge and stand in solidarity against violence and racial injustice. https://www.wmur.com/article/demonstration-held-in-wolfeboro-to-call-for-racial-justice/32785546

Author Event

In August 2020, we co-sponsored with the Wolfeboro Public Library and Country Booksellers, we hosted Debby Irving author of Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race, for a presentation and Q&A session. An emerging voice in the national racial justice community, she used her organization development skills, classroom teaching experience, and understanding of systemic racism to educate and guide individuals and organizations seeking to create racial equity at both the personal and institutional level. https://www.debbyirving.com/the-book/